“Hiram!” The rush of confused conversations and panicked voices around me almost drowned out my exclamation. All the knots in my stomach had come undone. He was fine and now there was nothing Desmarc could use against me.
“What is the meaning of this?” Prime Meridian Emerson crossed his arms. “You better have a good reason for interrupting, or I’ll be speaking with your commanding officer.”
“I do.” Hiram stepped forward and leveled a gun at Desmarc—his captor’s gun. “Desmarc Kingsford is charged with attempted murder, treason, and kidnapping.”
“That’s preposterous,” Prime Meridian Emerson blustered. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
A shocked mumble went through the crowd, whispers flying through the rows like steam through a pipe. Their attention flashed between Hiram and Desmarc.
Desmarc stepped forward, a bulging vein in his neck betraying his tension. “I can’t believe you have the audacity to ruin my wedding simply because of your feelings for my bride.”
“I’m not your bride.” I took the ring off my finger and threw it to the ground, then I yanked my other arm until the metal chain binding us snapped. “And I will bear testimony against you.”
Desmarc’s furious glare flitted to me and his voice raised. “Instead of ruining your father’s chances to become Prime Meridian and breaking off the engagement, you two have concocted some scheme to make me the villain.”
The rest of the guests fell into a stunned silence.
Hiram advanced further into the room, still aiming the gun at Desmarc. “Soon I’ll have evidence tying you and your accomplice to the recent murders in the city.”
A hush fell over the room, the sudden quiet intensifying the sound of the storm. The rain fell in torrents, driven sideways by the powerful wind, and thunder rumbled again. The large droplets created a hypnotic rhythm as they pelted the window, trapping us in a moment of indecision and tension.
Desmarc narrowed his eyes. “What in the aether would I have to gain from murder?”
My thoughts darted again to his admittance about being “ordered to marry in.” What did he and his group have to gain from all this?
Hiram kept his gun pointed steadily at Desmarc. “We can discuss it back at the Iron Watch.”
Prime Meridian Emerson stepped forward, then rocked back on his heels. He turned to Hiram. “Are you confident in your claims? Meridian Kingsford is a well-respected member of the community, not to mention Meridian Annandale’s soon-to-be son-in-law.”
“Not anymore,” Papá said as he strolled through the door.
“Papá, you’re here!” Relief crashed into me again, and the rain picked up outside. It streaked down the windows, distorting the view outside into a murky mosaic.
He flashed me a brief smile, but it quickly melted away as he took in Desmarc.
“What’s the meaning of this, Gideon?” Prime Meridian Emerson rubbed his forehead and turned to Papá.
“Unless Meridian Kingsford can clear his name, the wedding is off,” Papá said.
Desmarc stepped back and looked around. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. Now that Papá had joined the discussion, his confidence waned.
“I stumbled across Detective Atwood fighting off an attacker,” Papá continued. “Once we subdued the man, the detective informed me he’d been threatened to ensure my daughter’s cooperation with today’s events.”
The crowd gasped, reminding me we were far from alone in this moment. There would be no hiding what Desmarc had done. There were too many witnesses, which meant I was free from him. He’d lost all his power, anonymity, and leverage.
Hiram, now only a few feet away from Desmarc, jerked his gun toward the door. “If you would be so kind as to step away from Kyra, I’ll escort you out of here.”
Desmarc’s gave a short nod, and a man from the crowd tackled Hiram. In the scuffle, Hiram’s gun went off. The blue bolt shot toward us. Desmarc, Prime Meridian Emerson, and I dove out of the way as it hit the window. Cracks spiderwebbed through the glass, making the sky appear fractured.
The discharge sent the rest of the crowd into a tailspin, and people screamed and scrambled from their seats to charge toward the doors.
It was difficult to spot anyone in the sea of seething bodies. The crowd parted temporarily as they stampeded toward the doors, revealing Hiram wrestling with the man who’d attacked him while Papá elbowed his way toward me.
“Papá!” I left Desmarc behind and darted forward, trying to lose myself in the fleeing crowd even though my gown made it almost impossible. The air pulsed with a sense of urgency that matched my pounding heart. Someone bumped into me, almost knocking me down. I fought for balance in my heels amid the labyrinth of flailing limbs and frantic energy.
“Kyra!” Papá yelled.
I angled my way toward him as the crowd thinned. More people were making it to the hall. As a few more people ran through the door, I found Papá by the wall, scanning the crowd. “I’m here!” I waved at him and followed the flow of bodies.
A flash of blond hair drew my attention to my right. Hiram punched his attacker in the face. The man’s head snapped back, and he staggered back a step. The man didn’t stand a chance against Hiram, who moved with an almost lethal grace. Hiram’s busted lip had a bead of blood on it, but otherwise he looked unharmed.
A woman ran by, blocking my view for a moment. I pushed on toward Papá but couldn’t resist glancing at Hiram again.
Hiram scooped up the gun from the floor and smashed the barrel over his assailant’s head. The man’s body went limp, and Hiram scanned the room. Our eyes met, and the fear and tension rushed out of me.
A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me to a stop. “Nobody move.” Desmarc pulled a gun, a smaller version of Hiram’s, and held it against my head. The cold metal sent a shiver down my back.
I swallowed back the acrid taste of terror in my mouth and straightened my spine. I couldn’t give in to fear now.
“Unhand my daughter,” Papá shouted, making his way over.
“I don’t think I will,” Desmarc said softly as he backed us toward the window.
“What’s your plan?” I fought to keep my voice steady. “There’s no winning for you.”
A dangerous smirk pulled across his face, and he pressed the barrel of the gun more firmly against my head. “We are getting off this ship.” Dragging me with him, he took a step back, bringing us closer to the cracked window and away from everyone else.
My stomach clenched. Papá and Hiram wouldn’t do anything, not when he might hurt me, but Desmarc couldn’t escape after everything he’d done. My heartbeat slowed as I scanned the room. The four of us and the unconscious body of Desmarc’s accomplice sprawled across the floor not far from Papá were the only ones left in the trashed wedding hall.
My gaze met Hiram’s, and he shook his head once, as if begging me not to do anything reckless. I gave him a small smile, trying to reassure him.
“Be reasonable about this, Desmarc,” Papá said. “With all the charges Detective Atwood has laid against you, do you really think it’s wise to add more?”
“I’ll be long gone before anyone from the Iron Watch catches me.”
I tilted my head to the side and looked over my shoulder. We were still hundreds of feet above the ground, so it would be a good half an hour before we landed. We needed to apprehend Desmarc, and whoever else he was working with, before then.
“You’re outnumbered, Kingsford. We’ve already captured your other accomplices.” Hiram advanced a few steps toward us. “Give up now before you make this worse for yourself.”
“Am I?” Desmarc matched his steps, bringing us as far back as we could go. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”
The man from the floor lurched toward Papá, his arm driving forward almost in a blur. Papá’s eyes widened, and he staggered to the side. He pressed a trembling hand to his side around the hilt of a knife. Crimson bloomed across his white shirt.
“Papá!” I screamed, jerking against Desmarc’s hold.
“Don’t move,” he hissed in my ear as another flash of lightning lit the sky behind us.
I froze, horror crawling up my spine as Papá sank to his knees. The man wrenched his arm back, the blade sliding free with a sickening squelch. He stood casually near Papá in a silent warning.
I’d already lost one parent. Was I about to lose another?
Hiram looked between us, his brow furrowed with indecision.
“Look how quickly the engines turn,” Desmarc said. “Now I am not the one outnumbered.”
“You know this won’t work,” I said to distract him as I slowly moved one hand toward the jagged metal fragment sewn onto my dress. “No matter where you go, the Blue Capes will find you.” My fingers brushed against the smooth metal.
“Stop talking.” Desmarc pressed the gun more painfully against my temple, and my breath hitched.
I only had one chance.
Hiram shook his head minutely, begging me not to do anything risky. He glanced at Papá before returning his worried gaze to me, a silent reminder of how dangerous our situation was.
I cut my gaze toward Papá as he lay on the floor, hoping Hiram would take care of the other man.
I exhaled slowly to calm my racing pulse. If Desmarc shot me, he’d lose his leverage. And if there was one thing I’d learned about Desmarc, it was that he cared for nothing but himself. He couldn’t afford to hurt me and still expect to make it out of here. I had nothing to fear...as long as I didn’t look behind me.
“I’m sick of people telling me what to do.” I said as I wrapped my fingers around the metal and pulled, snapping the few threads binding it in place. The metal cut into my bare hand, but pain was distant compared to the fury boiling in me. I shoved the broken edge into Desmarc’s stomach. “That’s for Papá.”
Desmarc hissed, the sound like steam leaving a valve, and his grip around my neck loosened.
I pulled free and moved toward Hiram, who had turned and shot the man threatening Papá.
Desmarc stepped on the edge of my dress, jerking me to a halt as the fabric ripped. He yanked me back and backhanded me across the face. The blow knocked me off-balance, and I stumbled back.
I teetered in my high heels before catching myself on the window. For a split second, everything was fine. Then the broken glass gave way with a high-pitched splintering.
My heart leapt to my throat as I reached for something, anything to steady myself. But there was only air.
“Kyra!” Hiram’s fingers brushed my glove, catching me in a final, fleeting grip. Time stretched like a fragile thread. Then it snapped. My glove slipped from my hand, and everything sped up as I tumbled into the storm in a rain of shattered glass.